When the Dragon Swims
by IMH
Summary: A virus no one has seen before tags along with people escaping a revolution. The cure lays in the body of a girl with the name 'Long' and her virologist parents are missing. Wufei's objectives: Harvest the cure, find her parents, stop the unrest in the Chinese province. That is, if the virus doesn't kill everyone first. Mulit-chapter, post-EW, canon-ish, OC, 5xOC later on. Enjoy.


This is a fic I've been working on for a looong time. It's all about Wufei and his life post-EW. How he's doing, how he's moving on, or not. This is the first test-chapter...a "pilot chapter", if you like. There is more to come, but maybe not for a little while. I hope you enjoy!

 **When the Dragon Swims**

by IMH

* * *

"We interrupt your normal programming with breaking news from the Chinese Province. Following weeks of anti-government demonstrations in many cities across the province, people have gathered and are marching on Tiananmen Square in protest of recent proposals on the current gubernatorial campaign and voting regulations. Without further ado, we go to our news correspondent, Jason Marbek, who is on the scene. Jason, can you please describe what you are seeing?"

From a high vantage point, the live feed swooshed around the screen, showing the vast, undulating crowd marching along a wide street. The sea of people engulfed cars, stopping them in their routes. There was a momentary pause before a thick voice with a light Middle Eastern accent spoke up.

"Ah…yes, Susan, As you can see from the live footage we have here, hundreds, if not thousands of people are flowing into the square carrying signs and shouting slogans, calling for the resignation of Governor Charles Xu. The city center has come to, to almost a complete standstill. Transportation has stopped, offices have emptied out, people have simply left their jobs to join the march. I haven't…I haven't seen anything like this since the Mariemaia attempted coup."

The screen cut back to the newscaster in the studio, a frown on her face as she stared at something beyond the camera, presumably looking at a screen.

"Now, Jason, can you gauge the intention of the protest? Is it peaceful, or is there a chance for an outbreak of violence?"

"Ah…right now, things are peaceful. I have not seen anyone in the crowd hold up anything remotely close to a weapon. Now, we can only guess at how the provincial government will react. The government here, under the leadership of Xu, has been known to take a hard line with dissenters. However, as of yet, there has been no retaliation."

"And what are the people calling for, Jason?"

"The people are angry, Susan. Their common claim is that Xu's government is trying to take voting powers away from the people by reorganizing voting districts and pushing tighter voting laws through parliament. They also claim that Xu has tried to legalize stricter campaign regulations for regional parliament and gubernatorial seats that favor candidates who take donations from large corporate groups. We would not be incorrect in saying these claims have some merit."

The newscaster nodded and shifted through her papers. "Has there been any Preventer intervention, Jason?"

There was another pause as the noise of the crowd in the background swelled up in an indecipherable chant. The correspondent was screaming over the shouts.

"Ah, no, Susan. As far as we know, the Preventer organization has not approached the situation in any way other than to advise the local police forces. We have yet to see what move they will make."

"All right, thank you, Jason. Please keep in touch. Stay safe."

"Thank you, Susan, will do."

* * *

"The fact of the matter is that the members of the regional parliament in the Chinese province are notorious for being secretive in their dealings. Nothing but the official party line is ever recited by their MPs during the ESUN sessions, making it difficult for global bills to pass into law; not to mention the rumors of scandals which always seem to plague them."

"Rumors and scandals, Mr. Grant?" said the talknews show host. The pundit sitting next to him nodded his head and plowed right on.

"Yes. Rumors of extortion, bribery, throwing elections, penal correctional facilities—"

"Penal correctional facilities?"

"A nicer term for 'ideological rehabilitation centers'."

"'Ideological rehabilitation'!" blurted the host and leaned forward over the desk. His eyes were wide in surprise and shock. "Now that would be quite a scandal since such a thing goes against ESUN laws on prisons."

"The Chinese regional parliament has been this way since the creation of the Unified Nation. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these rumors turn out to be true. It's not surprising that the people are upset over this gubernatorial election. Xu's camp had done some suspicious things in order to block the arguable favorite, Min Yi Zhou."

"And what do you think Zhou's reaction to this will be?"

The pundit shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "The man's a wild card; but we can expect firebrand speeches in the coming weeks and months."

* * *

"The demonstrations from last week in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China have spread throughout the province and are centering in Beijing's Mentougou, Fangshan, and Xicheng districts, all of which have loudly opposed Parliamentary Member Charles Xu and his voting regulation proposals.

"This all follows on the hells of a snap referendum called by Xu himself. Many have accused the governor of forcing his proposals through while ignoring and even obstructing his opponents.

"Protestors have made frequent marches and obstructions along Beijing Financial Street and are showing no signs of letting up. Some have even camped outside the House of Parliament.

"Local police forces have detained a number of protestors, but there has been no forceful crackdown from the government as of yet, which many say, is quite surprising.

"Governor Xu is expected to make a statement later this week in Beijing."

* * *

"In a shocking twist to this story, regional MP Ming Yi Zhou was elected the Chinese provincial governor yesterday in a snap election called by Zhou himself only a week after the snap referendum on campaign and voting regulations, which was called by Governor Xu, backfired with a landslide 'nay'. Zhou cited many common complaints against the government and incited a fervor among the people when he put forth the motion of an election.

"What began as a few individual testimonies of government corruption over the years has snowballed into a full-on social revolution. The protestors, who are mostly laborers, municipal employees, and various middle and lower class citizens, have stormed most government establishments across the region, forcing the officials to flee to government controlled buildings.

"This push forward was organized by a small group who has come out and identified themselves as 'The People's Party', hailing Min Yi Zhou as their leader. Mr. Zhou has yet to endorse or condemn this group.

"There has been no word from the Preventer forces as of yet."

The news host turned her gaze to a woman in a crisp beige suit, the marquee on the bottom of the screen identifying her as Marion Dumas, a Ph. D political historian.

"Marion, what can you tell us about Mr. Zhou?"

"Min Yi Zhou may be less known to the rest of the sphere, but to former China, he is quite an icon."

"Really, and why is that?"

"He is outspoken, even for his own party, which is known for taking radical positions on issues. Some might say it is because of this willingness to speak against government leaders that he hasn't advanced past the regional parliament. Well, until now, that is."

"Indeed," the newscaster said. "He seems to have found his calling." Marion Dumas wryly smiled.

"Yes. When the protests started months ago, Mr. Zhou was very quick to pick up on their mission and sympathize with them. As moving through the traditional routes in parliament didn't work for him, he essentially rode the tide until it was the prime moment to call a snap election."

"A risky move."

"Yes, but he has gained hundreds of thousands of supporters. The protestors are fired up and show no sign of cooling down."

"But how legal is this? Can this election stand up to current laws?"

"Well, this is the exact thing Xu wanted to prevent with the legislation he and his party members were trying to push through. However, they made a serious miscalculation in underestimating Zhou's gravitas and the tone in parliament. There is a clause in the provincial and global constitutions stipulating the legality of snap elections should the situation call for it."

"This situation 'called' for it, then?"

"Yes. Although snap elections are usually called by the incumbent party, there is no rule against the minority calling one. Zhou has acted within his legal rights. He was quite shrewd in calling his own snap election to oust Xu from his seat."

"We have yet to hear an official statement from Mr. Zhou, or Governor Zhou, I should say. Can we expect that anytime soon?"

Marion Dumas tilted her head to one side and shook it. "Xu has yet to formally resign, or even to leave the House of Parliament. It would be unwise for Zhou to speak in any official capacity until the 'baton' has been passed."

"Thank you, Marion."

"Thank you."

* * *

Sounds of automatic rifles rata-tat-tatting sounded in the distance, up close, all around. People screamed and feet pounded on the pavement as people ran. Bodies littered the plaza in front of the camera. Cans flew through the air, leaving arches of smoke in all colors.

"I am speaking to you now from the House of Parliament in Beijing, former China, where police forces supporting ex-governor Charles Xu have turned on hundreds of protestors. I…I, it's unbelievable. They were demonstrating one moment, calling for Xu to formally and physically step down from his position, and then the police opened fire. They are not discriminating between men, women...my god, there are students, uniformed high school students. Oh…oh my god."

A man fell to the ground a few feet from the camera. One frame on his bloody back and the camera was pushed away by a disembodied hand. The focus circled back on the reporter whose mouth hung open.

"People are fleeing the scene, I can't tell how many are wounded, or worse. It's…shocking. It is supremely shocking."

Yellow smoke filled the frame. People began to cough.

* * *

"The Beijing police force opened fire on a protest at the Chinese House of Parliament yesterday, injuring hundreds and killing at least fifty people, making this incident the bloodiest since the end of the war.

"The situation turned deadly when a several officers in turn beat a protestor unconscious after he struck a policeman with his sign. Things rapidly escalated from there. It wasn't until the local Preventer forces intervened that the situation was brought under control. Entrance to Parliament Plaza and the House is prohibited. Chaos has consumed the city center, it seems. De facto governor, Min Yi Zhou, is expected to make a statement sometime soon."

* * *

"Do you see what this is? This is the tyranny of the Xu Government. Yes, you heard me, the Xu Government. Not yours, not a government by the people, but theirs. Xu ran this province like he owned it. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, killed who he wanted. Yes, I know! We all know! How many of your friends or family members have been taken away in the dead of night, never to be seen again? I can tell you where they are. They are in Xu's 'correctional facilities' being whipped like slaves, doing hard labor, being 're-educated' because they spoke up and exercised their rights! Instead of doing his duty and working for the people, he opens fire and slaughters us, our brothers, and sisters! This is not just!

"You are all witnesses as the world sat by and watched things reach this point. What are we to do now? I will tell you!

"I demand Xu step down from his position. The people have spoken and we do not want him here! We will take back what is rightfully ours! This is not the Alliance anymore; we can speak as we feel! No longer can the rich dictate what we do with our lives. We are all equal, and it is time for Xu and his rich lap dogs to realize that! We will find them and tell them, if you are not with the people, then you must step down. Get out of progress' way!

"It is time for China to become what it once was: an independent nation by the people, and for the people!

* * *

"In a short, but alarming, statement last week, Min Yi Zhou, the leader of 'The People's Party' has basically declared a complete re-organization of the Chinese Province's working government and even a cessation from the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. Speaking in front of massive crowds last evening, he all but ordered the resignation of those who are against him and his party. Government officials have been making an exodus of the region, seeking amnesty in other provinces. Police forces aligned with Zhou stormed the parliament house last night to find former governor Charles Xu missing.

"The homes of several other prominent politicians and society people were ransacked by civilians during the night, though it seems as most were already empty. There is no word as to their whereabouts and information coming out of the region is patchy at best.

"The Preventers are in negotiations with Min Yi Zhou while opening their regional facilities to people fleeing the 'revolution'. The Earth and Colonies are watching."

* * *

The morning light from the sun illuminated Une's office with a bright brilliance, reflecting off the glass windows of adjacent buildings. The right side of Wufei's face felt the warmth and if he wasn't being reprimanded within an inch of his life he would turn to face the full glare.

'Reprimanded' was somewhat strong. She wasn't angry with him and he hadn't done anything wrong. According to her, he had been doing too much. As if that wasn't why she hired him in the first place. He was one of the very few in the special agent office who could do the things others thought of as 'too much'. Apparently Une had decided that he'd gone beyond that.

"Chang," she said from the chair behind her massive desk. Anyone else and he'd question the need for such a vain display of self-worth. But her desk was literally covered in stacks of files, papers, memos, and a myriad of other things. The computer monitor rose out of it like a silver monolith.

"Mandatory desk duty," she said.

He sighed.

She continued. "No assignments outside the province, or off-world."

"And the situation in China?" he said, referring to the coup of the Chinese provincial government that turned bloody just three weeks prior.

"Handed off to other agents," Une said and pushed on when he opened his mouth to speak. "You've done three half-year tours there in a row. Fatigue doesn't do anyone any good."

He sighed again. 'Fatigue' indeed. The fact that his recall from deployment was due to a clerical error on his part was laughable. Shameful. It was enough for Une to label it as fatigue and call him back to headquarters. In truth, he figured she wanted him back anyway. So, fatigue it was.

Still…

"Who did you put on it?" he asked.

"Clannard."

A suitable replacement, he decided. Clannard had a finesse and ease with politicians but was decisive enough to command through a crisis.

Still, it didn't sit well with Wufei. Leaving things unfinished was distasteful.

"A number of high profile 'refugees' have been coming in over the last few days." She stood and walked around to the desk front. Pulling on a file folder from one of the piles, she handed it to him.

The word 'refugee' came out of her mouth in a nearly mocking tone. Opening the folder, he tongued his finger and flipped through the pages, seeing what she meant.

Small profile images printed on each sleeve of paperwork showed several political figures of the Chinese provincial government. Anyone who paid attention to politics, or even the recent news from the area would know who these people were.

"They claim they're here on a diplomatic mission, to contest the legality of Zhou's actions."

He huffed out a scoff. They brought that on themselves. "Have they anything to say about Zhou's desire to secede from ESUN?"

"Of course. They claim Zhou has small neighborhood armies patrolling cities, searching out those deemed 'Xu's rich'. They claim these people are taken away and never seen again."

"How ironic," he mumbled and flipped another page.

"They want this investigated, which we already are, but they also want their positions back, along with all their possessions and assets they had to leave behind when fleeing ransackers."

"Are they under the impression they'll get these things?" He glanced at her.

Une sighed. "It's on the table for negotiations."

"And where is Xu in all this? We weren't any closer to finding him when I left."

"Not your concern," came her voice. He resisted the biting reply on his tongue.

Wufei continued his quick scanning of the papers. Politicians and a socialite. Closing the folder, he looked back up at Une.

"You need more information than their stories from China."

She nodded, crossed her arms.

"They've been scrambling with banks in Switzerland and other off-shore, off-world locations. Anything they had in their home province accounts after the election is mostly gone."

"Money transfers and emptying accounts," he muttered, letting his eyes wander as he pondered the thought. They were gathering what funds they hadn't lost in the coup.

In addition to money, they would also be canvassing other Earth provinces for political support. They would need like-minded MPs and governors to rally to their cause, and they would need something further if they were going to physically retake a region where the popular consensus was 'out with the old, in with the new'.

"The money is going out but we don't know where," he said. Une hummed her agreement

"They can't do much from their current position," she said, nodding again. "We have them staying in a holding facility near the airport, so their range of communication is limited to monitored phone and vid-calls. But we can't keep them there forever."

Why not, he let the bitter, but impractical, thought run through his mind. They had already been let into the province. Technically, they weren't refugees and didn't need to be detained. Simple tourists weren't even detained like this.

"How are we able to hold them in the first place?" he asked instead.

"They have fallen ill since arriving in Brussels. We have them in quarantine."

"All of them?"

"Yes, I know," she said with a shake of the head. "And with the same illness, it seems."

Same illness? "What are you going to do with them?"

Une shook her head. "It's difficult to say. We can't alienate these people. Many of them have strong ties to their province superiors here at World House. The official decision has to come from Jardin," she said, referencing Louis Jardin, the Governor of the European Province.

"Hm." The sound vibrated in Wufei's throat and passed through his closed lips as he pondered further. They couldn't alienate the people of the Chinese province either. The popular 'vote' was important, especially now that Min Yi Zhou held the reins.

"We're not loyal to dissidents," he said. "Neither are we loyal to corrupt politicians."

"Yes," said Une, "That is true, but we need to know who is corrupt and which intentions match with whom. Left unchecked, this will escalate into war."

Not good.

"Interrogations will help with that," he said, making a statement rather than a question.

"Interviews under the guise of resettlement and diplomatic assistance will help with that," Une corrected.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Surely, they're aware of this," he said. These 'refugees' were politicians, not a group of desperate migrants.

"They wouldn't let on if they were, but assume so. In any case, they'll be pushing for these things. Prepare yourself for that."

He quietly sighed. Politics was a loathsome thing. People smiled at the front and simpered 'round the back to make their move. He had little patience and no taste for it.

"This is your task," Une said as she handed over a pass card to the holding center. Officially his.

"Understood."

"Dascombe has been handling processing. If you need any further information, refer to him."

Wufei nodded and stood there, waiting for her dismissal. Instead, she shifted her glance to the folder in his hand and frowned, seeming to consider something. He waited a few more moments.

Her words were full of weight as they slowly came out. "Be wise of one person," she said,

Wufei opened the folder again and waited for a name.

"Jia Li Long," she said.

The surname nearly sent a shock through him, but he pushed it back. There were plenty of people with that surname across the sphere.

He flipped through to her file anyway. An oval faced girl, young, pale skin and eyes shaped like his own; her long black hair, held back from her face with two lacquered barrettes on either side, fell over her shoulders and past the border of the photo. She was seventeen and alone.

"Her family?" he wondered aloud. The name of her mother and father were listed, though neither of them had files of their own.

"Missing," Une said. "The father's been missing a week and a half. She and the mother left Beijing four days ago but she was the only one to show up at the Preventer complex in Paris."

That didn't bode well for her parents.

"But why is she a person of interest?" he said.

"Her father is ex-Alliance, a scientist. He is currently employed by Xu's government. Or, he was employed by them."

His focus snapped up to her face. A creeping sensation was settling in his chest.

Une looked him square in the eye. "…And is formerly of colony L5-A0206."

The shock he was holding back ripped through him. Colony L5-A0206. Home. Attacked and destroyed. All the people he knew, his family, Master Long, his parents' grave, his…

He didn't dare believe it. Again, he told himself that there were too many people with that surname to be that family. There were plenty of people.

But from his colony?

With that name?

He took in a breath, and for the first time in a long time, was apprehensive of speaking his mind.

"'Long' is her family name?" he said, his voice betraying none of the tenseness in his lungs.

Une regarded him for a moment before answering. "Yes. It cannot be confirmed if he was a member of the Long Clan, but he is from A0206."

He sucked in another breath and noticed how tight his chest was, how air was gushing out but not coming back in. Glancing down at Jia Li's photo, he darted his eyes across her face, taking everything in again.

"What we do know is that Wenao Long was born and grew up on A0206, graduated from the L5 Temen Research University on B1340 at nineteen and was recruited by the Alliance the same year. In AC 180, he moved to Shanghai, married An Ming Bai in 181, and Jia Li was born in 182. In AC 183 the family moved to Beijing."

He flipped through the girl's file as he listened to Une.

"Where is this information?" he asked.

"Here."

Glancing up, he saw another, slimmer folder that Une held out. He took it and immediately went to reading. There was Wenao's profile, everything Une was telling him, An Ming's profile as well, only a few sheets.

"That is the only copy and it does not leave my presence," Une said.

Wufei looked up at her again. So it was sensitive information.

"There's nothing on his conduct with the Alliance," he commented.

"No, still searching for that. Even with the confidentiality seals broken on old Alliance intelligence, there's not much on Wenao Long's job specifications or projects."

He could guess, by Une's attitude, that it wasn't obtained under the most legal circumstances. That made it all the more unnerving. To have a profile that was meant to be transparent, but to contain no substantial information, was a red flag.

"Nothing more than a light personal history," Wufei muttered, thinking that Une was holding out on more. He was right.

"We know he was a specialist in virology, and has written several well-received papers on genetic engineering. The retrograde tissue vaccine was his."

Interesting, the Alliance's much-applauded antidote to the 'zombie disease', as the media dubbed it. Wufei remembered the chaos the disease created, just months after the Alliance attacked his own colony when he was younger. It was a sickness exclusive to the colonies, in which patches of skin rotted and became pus-filled mush, letting the disease eat further into the muscle and bone. Previously, amputation or removal of affected areas had been the only cure.

The Alliance touted the vaccine as the greatest medical discovery in order to placate the growing outcry from the colonists. The cure worked, but then again, it didn't placate anyone. At the time, rumors circulated that the Alliance created and released the disease, then came through with the vaccine. He wouldn't have put it past them. In retrospect, he wondered if the 'zombie disease' had been the bio-weapon the Alliance tried using on his home. It was a vicious illness. He'd seen plenty afflicted by it.

And the ex-Alliance scientist who developed the cure was now either in the hands of violent revolutionaries, or missing.

Very...interesting.

"Yet, this is the first we've heard of him and he's not been seen for nearly two weeks," Wufei said.

"Which is why Jia Li is of great interest. Wenao Long is a wildcard. Until he and his wife surface, we need the daughter. Proceed as ordered with the others, but I want her fully and legally processed for resettlement here, in Brussels."

"Where, exactly?"

Une pulled another folder, switching it for Wenao's information. Wufei opened it and saw Jia Li Long's entire resettlement placement ready to be stamped and officiated. Une certainly planned for this, bypassing the usual, long procedures.

"Constance-St. Benedict Preparatory School," he read from the file. 'The Relena Darlian school', as it was nicknamed; the Vice Foreign Minister had donated much of her own funds towards it's creation. It was a highly ranked university prep school that gave out thousands in scholarships to disadvantaged youth from Earth and the colonies.

"It's best to keep her close and away from the others who may have designs for her."

"You think she knows something about her parents' whereabouts?"

Une tilted her head to one side. "Maybe. However, she's very ill. We have her in quarantine with the others at the holding facility now."

He raised an eyebrow, but nodded, recognizing the strangeness in the situation. It didn't bode well if the daughter of a top-tier virologist was sick. It reeked of politics, intrigue, and terror.

"Po is already down there with her medical research team doing the necessary work. I want Jia Li cleared and secured, everything that goes with it. Is that understood?"

Wufei stacked the folders in his hands, feeling their weight. Slipping them under his left arm he nodded. "Understood."

Again, he waited for dismissal, but again, Une was hesitant. She glanced at the folders in his hands, then met his eyes.

"If you would rather not with this assignment…" she began.

"I will do what is needed," he replied, not giving her the chance to say anything further.

She regarded him for a moment and nodded. Moving back around her desk to the chair she said "dismissed" with no more consideration than if it were an afterthought.

He didn't wait for anything more and left, closing the door behind him. She was already typing at her computer before he even turned around.

* * *

How strange fate worked. He had been taught that fate was something one couldn't avoid. Life was laid out along a river that stretched through time and all one could do was to let the current take them where it willed. That was all he let himself do for the longest time, never seeing any point in fighting it.

Then fate dealt him events that he could not accept. He could not believe that certain things were destined for him and not for others. That he live through terror and strife, while others were doomed to die by the hundreds in his wake. He couldn't accept that.

He decided that he would fight fate, make his own fate. And he had been succeeding. Or so he thought.

The past two years had been spent without much distress. The general feeling of restlessness he felt in the time after Libra and the Eve Wars, as people were calling it, had mostly gone. Mostly. With the Preventers, he had a purpose; he was doing work that aligned with his own sense of justice. He had changed his fate from an ambivalent observer to an active part of the future.

And this revelation blew it all to hell.

The ghosts of his past had been sealed away in some deep part of himself. He could control them there and the grief was minimal. The guilt was minimal. He could handle it that way.

The service stair corridor was abandoned at this time of day, morning. Most people were just arriving and most took the elevator; precisely the reason he preferred the stairs.

He paused just outside the door holding the special agent offices. His hand gripped the railing and he willed the old memories away.

Away.

One got away.

One of them survived, just like him.

It was an amazing thing. Under Alliance control, travel between the Earth, or even the colonies themselves was nearly impossible. A person needed permissions and permits. Without, the consequence was arrest and interrogation, disappearance. Long Wenao must have been high up in the Alliance ranks to move his life to Earth of all places.

In his mind, he brought up the image of the man from Une's file, the information committed to Wufei's memory. There was so much missing and it tugged at him. He felt that uneasiness in the bottom of his stomach when he knew something wasn't right. If Une really showed him all she had, then he would have to discover the rest on his own.

That's probably what she counted on.

Again, old memories threatened, that feeling of restlessness.

He descended another stair, and another, reaching across for the door leading to his floor.

On the other side was the foyer of the special agent offices. A U-shaped reception separated the area from the rest of the floor; two conference rooms surrounded by bullet-proof glass with a corridor in-between leading towards the individual agents' offices behind.

The station to his left was occupied by their one administrative assistant, Christian Millou. A recently graduated political science student, Christian was organized, laughed all the time, and was eager to enroot levity in the office that everyone except Heero and himself appreciated.

His face broke from concentration on his typing to a broad, toothy grin when Wufei walked past.

"Good morning, Agent Chang," he said with a bounce in his voice.

Wufei nodded, "Morning." He reached the gate between the reception desks and swiped his ID. The little scan pad flashed red, then beeped green as the word 'accepted' blinked on the screen.

"Agent Po left a message for you. I forwarded the voice file to your desk phone," Christian said, not missing a beat with his typing.

Pushing through the glass and metal half-door, Wufei continued through.

"Thank you," he called back.

He walked between the two unoccupied conference rooms and turned right, then another right, his office just one door down from the corner. The floor was quiet. Most agents in this particular office didn't arrive until nine. It was only eight-fifteen. Heero, he knew, was off-world with the Vice Foreign Minister; the other agents, no sounds at least; Sally, at the airport holding facility.

His office was nothing special, three walls of concrete, steel and plaster, one wall of windows, completely undecorated except for the clock that hung over the door and the one book, sitting on the shelves, that Sally gave him when he first enlisted. "Congeniality for Your Future" it was titled. A joke on her part, he recognized, but she mentioned that he would benefit from reading the self-help book anyway.

A very bad joke.

Rounding his desk, he swiped through the touch screen on the desk phone. Sally's message was at the top of the list.

"Special Agent Sally Po for Special Agent Wufei Chang." Her voice was calm, authorative, but with the usual hint of amusement. The message wasn't anything Une hadn't already told him, just without the more sensitive information. She outlined a timeline of interrogations—interviews, and when he needed to be there.

The message program on the phone flashed, requesting a response. He chose 'no' and leaned back in the swivel chair.

In a few hours he would be questioning one of the last known descendants of the Long Clan, and for all his apprehension, expectations, anticipation, he swallowed the feeling that he wasn't in charge of his own destiny anymore.

Perhaps he never had been.

* * *

Again, thanks so much for reading. Please look forward to the next chapter (when I'm ready to post it!)

IMH


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